One Year Later
by amberranae6292
Summary: Stephanie leaves Trenton for a year. She comes back bold, trained, and badass. The man she wants is her new partner, and the two couldn't work together better. Only problem is, the man she wants is engaged to another woman..
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer : None of the characters that you recognize are mine.**

**This is the other half-assed story I'm working on, again, the plot was suggested by Aznbeez (Belinda). Meh. Here ya go.**

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I stood on the sidewalk outside the RangeMan building, staring up at the windows above me. All around me were familiar Trentonized noises and sounds that reminded me that I was back home. Back home, after being gone for a year.

My name is Stephanie Plum, streetname Bombshell. I used to be a bounty hunter, although not a good one. I used to keep my gun in a cookie jar, and even then it wouldn't be loaded. I used to always have to call Ranger for help in tricky situations, and accidently blew up every car I touched.

But not anymore. I guess the last straw came when a psychotic man posing as my mentor and friend, Ranger, kidnapped Ranger's daughter and me and held us hostage in my own apartment. When Ranger got shot, I realized I needed to get my act together. So I did. My father, who used to be in the military, contacted one of his friends, Marcus Gallister, who contacted his son, Jake Gallister. Jake, who was an ex-Ranger himself, sent me a letter a few weeks later. "You have to be serious about this," he had written. "I'm not going to treat you any differently than I would a real trainee." I had agreed, and a week later I was on a plane to Dallas, Texas. Once I got there, Jake sent back all of my stuff, including the things I had worn over there, and replaced everything I needed. I never told anybody I was leaving except my father and Mary Lou, who had Rex. Mary Lou agreed to tell Ranger and Joe goodbye for me, and my dad said he would take care of my family.

Jake had been serious when he told me he wasn't going to treat me any differently than a real trainee. He drilled my ass from dawn to dusk for eleven months. He never once told me I couldn't do it, but damn, that man can cuss. When he wasn't drilling me, I either slept or ate. I was allowed one shower a week, and had sleep deprivision one night every other week. I wasn't allowed contact with anybody other than my father, who kept me up to date on how my mother, sister, neices, and grandmother were doing. Outside of the family, he didn't really know any of the gossip, so I couldn't ask him how Ranger or Joe were. He did say that Mary Lou wanted to tell me that Rex was doing fine, and I told him to thank her. I wasn't really sure when Jake was letting me go, I just knew I had agreed for a year or so.

Then, finally, after a year of training in everything from psychology 101, to picking locks, to guns, to throwing knives, to the physical stuff, Jake announced that I was allowed to go home. I thanked him for everything, gave him a hug, and my ass was on the next plane to Trenton. I had gained a hell of a lot of confidence while I was gone, and I knew without a doubt that I would be able to move on to Ranger-sized skips easily. As soon as I got into Trenton, I went to my mother's house, knowing that half of Trenton would realize within the next ten minutes that I was back. My mother and grandmother were ready waiting at the door, how they knew I was coming, I have no clue. After enduring a bunch of hugs, kisses, and "How could you just leave me?"'s, my father helped me make my escape. I went from there to Mary Lou's. Mary Lou was also waiting for me in the doorway, and once I finally went over every single detail of Jake's body, I was allowed to take Rex. I got my key to my apartment from Dillon, who explained that my father had continued to pay rent, and took the stairs up to my floor. I took my gun in my hand and examined the place thoroughly. Satisfied, I plopped Rex's cage down on the counter, and opened my refridgerator to find.. nothing. Cursing, I grabbed my purse and headed out to the grocery store.

I thought I was doing pretty good by managing not to run into anyone, when right there on the produce section was who other than Ranger's right hand man, Tank.

"Hey!" I called out to him, throwing a carrot at his head. It hit him dead center in the ear, and surprised, he turned to me.

"Holy shit," he swore, eyes wide. "Bombshell?"

I grinned at him, moved around my buggy, and gave him a hug. "Yep, it's me."

He hugged me back, then I was smothered by a body from behind me. Turning, I saw that it was Lester Santos.

"Les, can't breathe," I mumbled.

Lester loosened his hold on me, then pulled back and looked me over. "Lookin' good, Bomber," he grinned.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Right back atcha," I said sarcastically, taking in the bandage on the left side of his forehead.

"Had some trouble with a skip," Tank said, answering for him. Lester looked a little sheepish, and I grinned.

"Who?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. Lester mumbled something incoherent, so I stomped on his toe with my boot. "Who?" I demanded louder, giving him my best intimidation glare that worked on even Jake.

"Um, Grandma Mazur."

My eyes were as wide as saucers. "You took in my grandmother?" At both Lester and Tank's sheepish nods, I frowned.. then burst out laughing.

"Ah shit," I groaned, leaning on Tank to hold me up. "That's a classic."

At that time, both Lester and Tank's pagers beeped. "Ella's getting impatient," Lester laughed. "We were supposed to be back thirty minutes ago."

"Well, go on," I told them, waving them away. "Don't get Ella too riled up, she's the one who cooks for you." They both grinned and hugged me again before walking away. I watched them go, a question brewing in the back of my mind.

"Hey, Tank?" I called, straining my neck. Tank turned around, still walking. "How's Ranger?"

Both Tank and Lester froze. They spoke to each other quietly, then Tank headed my way while Lester went to check out.

"Um, Bombshell," Tank said slowly, looking as though he would rather be anywhere but here. "Have you talked to Ranger within the past year?"

"No?" I knew there was nothing wrong with him, or Tank would have been acting differently. "Just spit it out, Tank, what's going on?"

Tank looked at me, staring into my eyes for a full minute and a half, then nodded. "I think that you should probably come with us. But Bombshell.. he's changed. He.." Tank droned off, looking very uncomfortable. I frowned, but nodded, and followed him to the front to pay for my groceries. As soon as I was done, we silently loaded our bags into Tank's Dodge Ram. I sat in the middle between Lester and Tank, feeling the tension and apprehension coming off of the both of them in waves.

"Okay, cut the shit," I said finally, looking from side to side. "What the hell's goin' on?"

Lester bit his lip in a determined silence, while Tank flat out ignored me. I growled, but said nothing. We finally pulled up at the RangeMan Garage. Tank and I both went to the elevator together, while Lester parked the car.

"Listen, Stephanie," Tank said, turning to me as we waited on the elevator to get to floor seven, "I'm not showing you this to hurt you, but to show you what I think you need to see. Your leaving.. it hit him hard, Steph. He tried to follow you, but couldn't figure it out, how you were supposably in seven different countries at once." I grinned at this, it had been another one of Jake's precautions. My grin faded as Tank continued. "He started withdrawing himself into work more and more, and then-" he stopped as the elevator reached the seventh floor. "I'm warning you, Steph, you're not going to like this," he said softly. Before I could reply, he knocked firmly on the door.

A few minutes later, Ranger swung it open. "Yea man?" he asked. Tank nodded in my direction. Ranger's head swiveled to me, and his jaw dropped an inch. We stood there, staring at each other, both of us lost from the real world. I saw many emotions flicker across his eyes -- surprise, hope, apprehensiveness -- until they settled on pain. My face softened even more, and I gave him a small smile. He opened his mouth to speak, when another voice rang out.

"Ric? Tank? What's going on?" A woman -- long brown hair, thick lashes, slim, beautiful face -- put her hand on Ranger's shoulder and looked out. Her eyes stopped on me. I opened my mouth, but no words came out. I looked at Tank, who was staring intently at me. I looked back at the woman and saw the engagement ring on her finger. Letting out a small, sarcastic laugh, I nodded my head at Tank and turned to the elevator.

"Stephani-"

The elevator doors cut Ranger's voice off. I rode down the elevator in silence. Nobody stopped me from leaving the building. Outside, I looked up at what I knew was his floor, his apartment, and shook my head. I kept a tight rein on my emotions, waiting until I once again secured my apartment and locked my doors, before I let my tears flow. _Don't do relationships, my ass._

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_**Ah hah hah. Mk. I have an awful craving for a Frito Chili Pie now, so I'll be back to write more later. To0dleZ.**

**By the way, I don't think I'm even gunna work in this one anymore, unless you REVIEW:-D  
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	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer : None of the characters you recognize are mine. Umm, I forgot to put this in the other one, but I guess it's kinda late now, but this has spoiles for probably all the books, not really sure which ones, but I figured I'd be safe. I'm working on the next two chapters to Broken Memories as soon as I get done posting this, so never fear, Retard is here.. Right. It's 2 in the morning, I'm tired, I'm loony, Sue me. I'm sorry if Lester seems a little OOC, but he seems like the most talkative one out of the bunch, so I figured I'd make him the victim of Stephanie's interrogation tactics. Anyway, here ya go..**

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The next morning, I was awakened by a loud thump, then a string of curses. "Shit," growled out my visitor. I rolled out of bed, threw on my sweats, and grabbed my gun. Cocking it, I swung the door open and aimed carefully at Lester Santos's chest.

"Bombshell," he said cautiously, "Put the-"

"Fuck you," I growled. "It is six-o-fucking-clock in the morning. I am tired. I am bitchy. I am PMS'ing. Unless you want me to put a hydro through you, I suggest you get your ass to Tasty Pastry and pick me up some damn donuts. Don't come back for three more hours. Knock like a _normal civilized human being,_ and then maybe, _maybe_ we'll talk. Got it?" Not leaving him time to answer, I swung my door shut. I hit the safety on my gun, tossed it across the room, and flopped back down on the bed.

True to his (my?) word, three hours later I heard a tenative knock on my front door. I had just gotten out of the shower, and was in the process of pulling on a tee shirt when I swung it open. "Good morning, Les," I said cheerfully, grabbing the donuts. He eyed me cautiously, as though I was a ticking time bomb. "Come on in," I called out to him from the kitchen. "Have a seat." Lester obediently followed me into the living room, sitting down in the couch beside me.

"Um, Bombshell?" He looked nervous, and I knew what he was about to bring up. "About yesterday evening.. um.."

"What about yesterday evening? Nothing happened yesterday evening." Queen of denial, that's me.

"Now, Bomber.."

"_Nothing frickin' happened yesterday evening." _I shot him a Burg glare, and he flinched slightly before composing himself. He gave me a slight nod, then stole one of my donuts. We ate in silence for awhile, before curiousity got the best of me and I spoke up.

"So who is she?" I asked, trying my best to sound nonchalant. Lester shot me a _'You're not fooling me'_ look, and began to mess with his shirt.

"Her name is Rachel." He looked reluctant to offer up any more than that.

"Ooo-k-_ay_," I said, "Now who _is_ she?"

Lester looked as though he wasn't going to say anymore, but I shot him my best intimidation look, and with a sigh, he added, "She works for RangeMan in Miami. Works independently for the FBI. Spends a lot of her time on kid cases; Child molestation and abuse, kidnapping, does some PI work on the side."

I sighed. "How long have they been together?"

Lester looked me in the eyes, giving me a Lestevaluation.** (A/N :hehe. get it? _Leste_valuation?I'm so good. Hah..hehe..Yeah.. just..nevermind.)**Finally he found what he was looking for, or didn't find, because he began speaking.

"They got together about two months ago. Rach was up here for a case, and she asked Ri-_Ranger_ for assistance. They flew to Peurto Rico for a week, then they came back for a few days, then they dissappeared. They happened to dissappear at the same time as a bunch of Feds and even a few local blue and whites, and arrived back at the same time, but everybody was tight lipped about it. Something big was either going down or went down, but civilians never heard anything about it. Hell," he ran a hand through his hair, "Not even Ric-Ranger's core team heard about it. About a month before you came back, she started wearing that ring."

I felt awful hearing about her and Ranger's dissappearing acts, but something caught my attention. "You called her Rach," I said slowly. Lester looked like a dear caught in the headlights.

"Yeah, so?" he said, rather defensively.

I looked him over -- defensive acts, he shortened her name to Rach and acted as if he knew her for a long time, he spoke of her almost affectionately, and the way he said _that ring_ made it sound.. protective.

I gave him a _tell me the truth or I'll shoot you_ look, but he shook his head. "Nuh uh," he said. "No way. Not working this time."

I continued with the look, but he closed his eyes. I grinned. Jake had commented once that people tend to be more nervous about an intense look when the eyes are closed than when they're open. Sure enough, after a few minutes of silence and glaring, Lester threw his hands in the air and snapped his eyes open.

"Fine!" he yelled. "Fine, fine fine. But Stephanie-" he leaned forward, towards me, "You cannot tell anybody -- _anybody_ -- about this. It could put more people's lives in jeopardy than you realize."

"I won't say anything," I promised, knowing full well I'd drill Tank for info later. Lester probably knew this as well, with his ESP, but didn't comment on it. With my encouraging nod, he rolled his eyes in a true Burg girl fashion and sighed.

"Rachel is my sister," he said, "But judging from your tone, I'm guessing you already figured that out."

"Little sister?" I asked, knowing the answer. His protectiveness when he spoke about her gave him away. He grinned at me.

"Yeah, little sister. She's the baby of the family, actually." I gave him a _continue_ look, and, after a withering look at me, he did. "She's my step-sister. I have three step-sisters, and a big brother. Her dad got thrown in jail for arson, and her mother was a real bitch. Would have fit right in with the Burg, actually.." He drifted off, not seeing the _go fuck yourself_ glint in my eye when he mentioned "bitch" and "Burg" in the same sentence. He shook himself, looked at me, and grinned. "Rachel was just like her dad, and it scared the shit outta her mom. My mom had died when I was two, and somehow my dad and Rach's mom ended up meeting at the country club or something." He drifted off again, lost in his memories. After a few seconds of silence, he looked at me and snorted.

"There were three Carlson girls, no boys. The oldest, Victoria, was just like her mother. Middle one, Shannon, was probably the most sane of the three. Peacekeeper of the family. Shannon never wanted to be "perfect" like her mom and Tori, but she wasn't a wild child like Rach. She's closest in age to me, and she's the one who makes all the RangeMan uniforms for us." Finally, to the one I was interested in -- Rachel. Lester, however, was once again lost in his memories. I let him walk down memory lane for a few more minutes, then snapped my fingers in front of him.

"Yo, Lester, back to the story." Lester actually jumped. He shot me one of my own glares, then went back to his narrative.

"Then, there was Rachel." His face broke out into a grin, and I could see the pride for his little sister in his eyes. "Rachel was always the rebel child, even when she was seven -- that's how old she was when I met her. She was determined in every way possible to be the spawn of Michael Carlson. All throughout her teenage years, Rach caught hell with both her mom and my dad. My big brother never really had anything to do with the Carlson girls, but Shannon and I became friends, and eventually Rachel grew onto me. Rach was fifteen when she ran away. Her mother was frantic -- made me and Ric chase after her all over the US -- but the girl managed to outrun us for three years, until we couldn't really do anything about her being gone. The entire time, she only talked to two people -- me and Shannon. Soon as she was back, Ric offered her a position at the RangeMan of her choice. She chose Miami, because she always loved the beaches."

I couldn't help but to be amazed by the story of this girl -- even if she was currently screwing Batman. That thought made me cringe. This was the most I'd ever heard _any_ RangeMan employee speak about their personal life, and although I had a billion questions I wanted answers, I was not even about to interrupt him. Although it had been relatively easy to get him going, I had no doubt in my mind that it would be even easier to get him to stop.

"Anyway, Bombshell," he said, he himself realizing how much he had just volunteered about his life, "I didn't really come over here to give you my sister's biography." He flashed me a grin to show that he wasn't angry at me. "Actually, I'm here because I'm curious to see where the hell you've been for the past year."

I bit my lip, knowing interrogations were to be expected. "I was training," I said evasively. Lester snorted.

"Training? C'mon Bomber, I just told you my sister's life story, least you can do is give me a little more details than 'training'."

I rolled my eyes at him, then stood up. "If I'm going to give you a detailed report of my past year, then I'm not going to do it three different times." I picked up my phone and called Lula and Connie, Tank, and Bobby. "Get your asses over here," I said to each of them. Lester looked at me in amusement, but I just shook my head and dug out three tubs of Ben & Jerry's. As I sat in silence with Lester while waiting on my friends to get to my apartment, I tried to figure out just what I was going to tell them, and how much I was going to tell. I didn't know if Jake would want his name popping up in a conversation with a bunch of other ex-Rangers, but I didn't really see how I could avoid not telling them. Before I could ponder further, a knock on my door signaled my guests. I let them in, ignoring their chatter.

"Sit," I told them, pointing at my couch. Connie, Lula, and Lester took the couch, while Bobby and Tank sat on the floor. I handed two of the tubs of ice cream to my crowd, keeping one for myself.

"Okay," I began. Time to face the music.

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**Lalala, Mk.. There's chapter two, whoopie whoopie woo! Okay. I'm tired. I'm hyper. Boo me. I'm a rewiew whore, just like the rest of ya, so show me some lovin' and reviewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. Review! Review! You know you want to! Lalalala fill in extraspace Review! Review! If there's nothing else to do then hit the damn buttin thing that says review Review! lmfao.. yeah.. i'm out of it.. ignore me.. I'ma prolly seriously regret this insaneness tomorrow.. ruining my badgirl image -nods head and tilts sunglasses- So, time to work on the more seriouserish of stories, the broken memories one.. To0dleZ**

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	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer : None of the characters you recognize are mine. Unfortunately.. **

**Okay, I have to say right now.. I LOVE YOU ALL. THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH FOR ALL THE REVIEWS! I've never had so many reviews for so few chapters.. ya'll makin' me blush -- hides face behind hands --**

**I promise that I'll try to make the chapters longer, but I had a brain fart and couldn't really thing of anything to write.. a story ain't no fun to write 'til ya get to the good part an' all.. **

**Anyway, here ya gooo..

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"Okay," I began. Time to face the music. "When my father was in the army, he became friends with this guy Gallister. He and Gallister were best friends, and they kept in touch after they got out. I told my dad I wanted to get better trained, so he called up Gallister, who called up his son. I've been with his son for the past year training in weapons and physical fitness and psychology and all the other basics that a halfway decent bounty hunter would need to know."**

I waited for their questions.

And waited.

"Gallister?" Lester said finally. "As in, _Jake_ Gallister?"

"Damn," I muttered. I had been hoping that they wouldn't recognize the name. "Yeah," I said louder.

Lester, Tank, and Bobby all three jumped up. "You were trained by Jake Gallister?" the three said at the same time. I frowned at them and rolled my eyes.

"Yep."

"Bomber," said Tank, "You do know that he was a hitman?"

"Yup." This was getting good. I laughed at the expressions on their faces. Jake had made sure that I knew his background and past before I agreed to train with him. Something about future trust issues. Once I assured him that I wasn't freaked out by his past, he had yanked rather hard on my ponytail (damn Army men never know their strength, I guess), and began to layout plans for my training.

"It's not that bad," I grinned. "He just taught me how to be a better bounty hunter. That's it."

"Wait, wait," said Lula, "Who is this guy?"

"Gallister served in the Rangers with us," Bobby said. "He was one bad mutha.. Never trusted anybody, not even Ranger, who was the team leader. Loner. But damn, he had the best marksmanship outta all of us."

Jake had also told me about his past with the Rangers, and, more specifically, _the_ Ranger. He had almost bust a gut laughing when I told him that he was the one who helped me when I first got started in bounty hunter-ing. Jake had shaken his head and muttered something about "Always wanted to be Professor Higgins." It was Jake who had helped me feel better when I royally screwed up in something by telling me old embarrassing Army stories about Ranger and some of the other Merry Men. Needless to say, I couldn't wait until I had the chance to use my newlyfound (heard?) blackmail against them.

"Wait a minute, wait a _minute." _Lula held up her hands. "You tellin' me that you been off with GI Joe for the past year, and you didn't even tell us about him?"

"I wasn't allowed contact with anybody other than my father," I grinned at her. I knew what was coming next..

"Well? He as hot as Batman?"

The Merry Men all groaned, and I'd swear that Lester rolled his eyes. I turned my attention back to Lula and Connie, who were waiting expactantly on my reply.

"In a way," I said slowly, "He's hotter."

I laughed as the girls squealed. "Describe him!" they yelled at the same time.

"No!" yelled the three men. I rolled my eyes at them and pointed at the door.

"Out," I told them. "Girl-talk time."

Grumbling, the Merry Men stood and headed to the door. "Thanks for the ice cream, Bomber," called back Bobby.

"Lock the door behind you," I said sweetly. He laughed, then pulled the door shut as the three left.

"Soooo," Lula pried, "Describe him. Fully."

I rolled my eyes again, then sat down beside them. "Well.. he's 6'3ish, green eyes, dark brown hair, tanned, always wears Army cammo..." I drifted off, then gave them both my evil stare. "So who is this girl that Ranger is engaged to?"

Both girls cringed. "I can't find any information about her," Connie said, an angry flush on her cheeks. "She acts polite enough, and she's a good bounty hunter and all, but-"

"BOUNTY HUNTER?" I screamed. "She took my place as a bounty hunter?"

Sheepishly, Connie nodded. "AHH!"

I jumped up and kicked the wall. Suddenly, Rachel Carlson seemed like an enemy. "Vinnie gave her my spot?"

"Well," Connie said slowly, "I'm guessing that since you're better at what you do now.. Vinnie'll probably take you back."

Grumbling, I sat back down in the couch. "So what _do _you know about her?"

Connie and Lula looked at each other, then at me and shrugged. "Her name is Rachel Carlson." Knew that. "She's twenty six years old-" eight years younger than me and Ranger "And she and Ranger got engaged about a month ago." That made the green-eyed-monster in me flare up again.

"So are they serious about each other?" I was afraid to hear the answer, but in a perverse way, I felt that I needed to know. At least so I'd know whether or not to sicc Terri Gilman on the girl..

Both Lula and Connie cringed. "Wayell.." drug out Lula, "Somethin' is definately up. Batman replaced Robin with Catwoman, and the other Merry Men are never around anymore."

"Okay," I said, "Want to translate that into english?"

Connie laughed, then sobered. "What she's saying is that Ranger and Tank always worked together on their skips, right?" Nod. "But a few months ago, Rachel came around, and she started working with Ranger instead of Tank. When Lula asked Tank why, he said Ranger had requested it. And lately, even on takedowns and stuff, Tank said that they don't use RangeMan backup."

Something was smelling weird to me, and it wasn't Lula's feet. "What do you mean?" I asked carefully, my spidey sense tingling.

Connie looked as though she agreed with me on the smell. "Well apparently, it works just like it used to.. Rachel distracts, Ranger cuffs, job well done. Except for now, Ranger pulled all of his men off of all the takedowns that he and Rachel do."

My infamous spidey sense was already tingling, and by the time Connie stopped talking, it was working overtime. Something was definately weird.. But I couldn't tell what. I knew there was only one way to get to the bottom of this, but I wasn't really that willing to do it. I mentally sighed, knowing I would anyway.

"When does Rachel go to the office?" I asked it innocently, but both Lula and Connie shot me looks. Connie's was a "don't do anything you may regret later" look, and Lula's was a "let's bust a cap in her ass" look. "No shooting," I said to her hastily. Her shoulders visibly dropped in dissappointment. "Not yet anyway," I added under my breath, but Lula heard and perked up.

"She normally comes in on Mondays, between 9 and 10," said Connie. "She also comes in around 3 or 4 on Fridays to get her money for her completed skips."

I thanked her and Lula, then after a few more minutes of gossip, sent them on their way. In my mind, I was plotting.

It was time to meet Rachel Carlson in person.

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**Yee-haw. I'm half-assed working on Broken Memories, but I'm kinda blegh about it, cuz if I posted what's already written on it right now, it'd only be 700ish words, and I at least aim to have all my chapters be at least 1000.. blah.. i'll figure something out. Anyway, ya'll have me spoiled now, so I'm gunna have my feelings hurt if ya'll don't reviewwwww :-P**

**Review! and by the way, monroe-mary? Threatenin' my sweets and junk food? Daz' jus' cruel, woman.. Just don't take away my kosher pickles, and I'll survive.. Take away my pickles and I'll probably melt or go through a withdrawel or something.. Grawrz..**

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	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer : Anyone you recognize isn't mine, although it was kinda fun to create Marsha Goodman's background.. cuz I know somebody that that's actually happened to (take away the assault), and trust me, that divorce was nastay. But I still can't help but laugh at her..**

**Ahh, mk.. Honeybunch, my darlin', my dear, my.. whatever. I'm working on the next chapter of B&J and I should have it up within the next week, if all goes well.. I promiseeeee.. Don't hurt me :( Uh.. it's taking longer than usual to type and stuff now, because.. well long story short, I tripped and sprained my ankle and hurt my wrist.. Bah, humbug. But I'm okay.. stupid sidewalk.. -glares at all concrete-made.. stuff-**

**Anyway.. here ya goo..**

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Monday morning, I halfheartedly ventured into the office. I had made sure that I would be in there when Rachel arrived, but even then I had waited until the last minute to do so. I had talked myself out of it three times, until Lula finally slapped me across the face and told me to grow a backbone. She suggested I pictured myself in a Wonder Woman costume. I cringed at the mental picture, but got the message, and so there I was, Wonder Woman galore, sitting on the old ratty couch flipping through files randomly. I had no clue who the FTA's in front of me where -- I was more focused on the sleek Porsche that had just pulled up. Or, more specifically, in its female driver.

My stomach started to churn as I watched Rachel head steadily toward us. "I can't do this," I said to Connie and Lula, who were watching me.

"Bu-ll-shiat," Lula drawled. "You sit yo' skinny white ass back down on that couch, or I'll sit on ya." I hesitated a few seconds, then decided I'd rather watch Ranger and Rachel do the nasty in my mother's house before letting Lula sit on me, so I obediently plopped back down. I was in the process of attempting to get comfortable when Rachel strolled in. I looked up at her, only to see her pause in the doorway as she caught sight of me. It was a small pause, barely noticable, but I saw it just the same. With a very slight shake of her head, she continued deeper into the room, passing me without another glance.

"Hey Connie, Lula," she said, her voice cheerful. Damn, why couldn't she be a bitch? It would make me feel a lot better.

"Hey, Rachel," Connie said politely. "That is Stephanie, she's another bounty hunter. You and Ranger will be sharing FTA's with her." Rachel had turned around to face me, but as Connie said the last bit, she froze. Again, it was a barely noticable pause, and I don't think either of the other two girls saw it, but I did. After the freeze, a flash of.. something.. went through her eyes, but again, a second later the shields were back.

"Rachel Carlson," Rachel said, strolling over to me and holding out her hand. I noticed with a glance that her nails weren't painted, and it looked like she might even bite them.

"Stephanie Plum," I greeted, returning the handshake. She gave me a smile that didn't seem to reach her eyes. Again, her eyes held a weird look in them, but I couldn't place it.

As we were releasing hands, Vinnie popped his head out of his office. "Hello, Rachel," he said, giving her a sleazy smile. She gave him a half-smile-half-grimace in return.

"Vinnie," she said, her voice not quite containing her disgust. Vinnie, however, seemed either oblivious or unconcerned, because he ignored it.

"I see you've met my cousin Stephanie?" he asked, laying on the charm thick. Rachel's lip involuntarily curled, before she turned back to me and gave me a geniune smile, this one reaching her eyes.

"Yep, we met." The smile dissappeared as she turned back to my weasel cousin.

"Good, good." Vinnie's eyes gleamed. "Now, Stephanie's not near as good of bounty hunter as you-"

"Hey!" I cut in, "I've gotten better you duck-loving peice of-"

"-So I was wondering if you would ride along with her-"

"-no good gravel maggot Bernhardt humping small dic-"

"-and show her the ropes of true bounty hunter-ing a little bit?"

"-peice of shit."

The last few parts were yelled, so it took Rachel a few minutes to sort out the conversations. She gave me a look, shook her head quickly as if to clear her mind, and grinned.

"Yeah, I'll ride along with her," she answered Vinnie. I rested my head in my hands. When I said that I wanted to meet Rachel Carlson, this was not what I had in mind.

"What about Lula?" I asked the room. "She's my ride-along partner, so what about her?"

"Aw girl, go 'head," Lula said, winking at me. "I got filin' here to do anyway."

Vinnie, Rachel, Connie, and I all silenced and looked at her in amazement. "Whaaat?" Lula asked, looking down at her stretched-to-its-limits Spandex outfit. "Did I spill something?"

"You're actually going to file?" Vinnie asked, his voice sounding distant in amazement.

"Like, real filing, with the little ABC tabs and the ABC song and stuff?" I spoke up, my eyes wide.

"The type of filing where you, you know, put the files in the cabinet?" Rachel added, her eyebrows raised high. Connie just looked at Lula like she'd never seen her before, her jaw dropping an inch or two.

Lula snorted loudly, looking incredulous. "Of fuckin' course," she answered me and Rachel, "how the hell else would you file?" She turned to Vinnie. "Of course I'm filin', you douche bag, what did you hire me to do?" She waited expectantly for our answers, but when we remained silent, she snorted again and turned away. "Can't a full figured woman do her job around here and not get messed with for it?" she grumbled, picking up a one of the many stacks of files on Connie's desk. We watched in a silent amazement as she began to sort through them, picking up a few at a time and moving them into smaller stacks. "FUCKIN' A," she roared at us, "SAY SOMETHING!"

"Right," Vinnie said quickly, jumping. At the same time, Rachel said "Okay," and I said "So." Connie still remained speechless, watching the piles on her desk slowly dissappear.

"Cool," she said finally, snapping out of her funk and turning to us. "So, Rachel, Stephanie, shouldn't you two start with your FTA's now?" I silently grumbled.

"Yeah, she's right," Rachel said, picking up my abandoned files from the couch. "We'd better get a move on, if we're going to combine both of ours and still get them in before Friday."

Right. Friday. It wasn't until I was halfway to Rachel's car that it hit me -- I was now partnered with Batman's fiance.

"Oh I am so screwed."

Rachel frowned at me. "Why do you say that?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. That made me hate her more. Stupid one-eyebrow raisers.

"Um, nothing," I cringed, pulling open the passenger door. She gave me a look, probably wondering about my sanity level, then shrugged to herself and opened her driver door.

"So," she said, starting the car, "Who is our first FTA?"

I flipped through the stack until I had them in order of who was due to the nearest time. Marsha Goodman was on top. I informed Rachel of the skip and the address.

"Wanted for, uh.." I skimmed the page, then cringed, "ouch.. Wanted for attempted murder."

Rachel shot me a 'continue' look in the rearview mirror, so I grinned. "Apparently she walked in on her male plummer and her husband on the bathroom floor, and decided to do something about it. Says here she attacked both of them with a peice of plumbing pipe, then she went after them with a wrench. Beat her husband over the head with it, knocking him out."

Rachel snorted in laughter. "Guess she forgot about the plummer," she grinned. I scanned the story and nodded.

"Yup. 911 call came from the plummer. By the time the police got there Goodman was already unconscious, but Marsha was still hittin him with the thing. Told the police to get out of her bathroom until she was, quote, 'done murdering the cheatin' bastard'."

Rachel laughed again. "Bet that went over well."

"Says she stopped the assault on her husband long enough to tell them what happened. The cops were rookie females, and when they heard, they accidentally allowed Marsha a few more wacks before hauling her off."

"Now that's just insulting," Rachel mused, her grin still in place. "I mean, to cheat at all is bad. To cheat with another man is.. well that's pretty damn bad too. But to cheat with the plummer?" This caused both of us another fit of laughter, and I temporarily forgot about my grudge against her. For a few minutes, she wasn't Ranger's fiance, some Catwoman-badassed FBI informant, but just a regular, good-humored girl. But what hit me next was what disturbed me, because just then, I realized that I could easily become friends with this woman.

* * *

**Mk.. all that and a bag of marshmellows.. Soo, I only got 10ish reviews for chapter three, which wasn't as much as for chapters 1 and 2.. don't let me down people -pouts- Review review review! See, ya'll spoiled me, now I'm being a review whore..**

**Reviewwwwwwwwwww**

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